Talking on a rooftop
by I'mwastingmylifeinhere
Summary: "I'm fine, Cat. It's... It's nothing." "It obviously isn't nothing if you're this upset over it." He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her his most comforting smile. "Talk to me. You'll feel better if you let it out." - Or that one time Chat Noir figured out Ladybug's identity because she was complaining about Chloe.


"Ah, nothing like a good patrol to finish the day." Cat Noir stretched, shutting his eyes tightly, an action Ladybug kept saying made him look even more like a cat.

Speaking of said hero, she wasn't saying anything. That wasn't normal. She was supposed to say something, to tease him, to agree with him, to make a comment about the akumas lately, to do _something._ She wasn't supposed to be so quite. 

"Ladybug? Are you okay? You seem a bit down." After so many months of spending time together and fighting akumas, Cat prided himself in knowing Ladybug very well. Sure, he didn't know her real name or what her face looked like without the mask, but he knew her smile when she was happy, her triumph grin when she figured out a plan, the way her face got so adorably red at the rare times she got flustered. And he also knew her look when she was upset over something. 

"I'm fine, Cat. It's... It's nothing." 

"It obviously isn't nothing if you're this upset over it." He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her his most comforting smile. "Talk to me. You'll feel better if you let it out." He sat down close to the edge of the rooftop and patted the spot next to him. 

"Fine," She sighed and sat down. "There's… this girl in my school. We're in the same class, have been for a couple of years, and she's just...Ugh!" She throws her hands in the air and groans and maybe it's not the best description ever but Cat understands what she means to say. "She treats everybody badly, like she's better than everyone! And I _try_ to be civil towards her but sometimes she's just too much!"

"I know what you mean. There's a girl like that in my class too. One of my classmates is a really nice girl, but even she can't stand her at times." He thinks of Marinette and how she'll talk back to Chloe, saying everything the rest of the class wanted to say but never actually did. You had to admire how she could stand up to people, regardless of who they were. And the look on Chloe's face when Marinette talks back to her! He can't suppress a chuckle, it's just priceless! "You should see her she gets angry at her, though! She acts very shy, at least around me, but she knows how to put her in her place!"

"Sounds like you really like her, kitty," Ladybug smirks.

It's at times like that Adrien wishes he didn't blush so easily. "Why does everyone assume I like her like that!" He complained. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed Plagg and Ladybug had made a deal to embarrass him about this as much as possible. "We're just friends!"

Ladybug can't help but giggle at her partner's reaction. "Well, if you do like her, I'm pretty sure she likes you too if she's only shy around you."

"A-Anyway! What were you saying?" Cat said in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject. Thankfully, it worked.

"Well, there's this boy that sits in front of me and he was spacing out a lot today so his best friend said that he's probably daydreaming about his 'lady'."

 _Huh, weird. Nino made the same joke today,_ Adrien thought. The DJ had seen the contact labeled 'My Lady3' on his phone and wouldn't shut up about it.

"I just... I have a crush on him, Cat," Ladybug sighed. "And learning that he likes another girl hurt."

The heroine was unaware that what she was saying was having the same effect on her partner. _She… likes someone else…_ He knew that she might like someone, but that didn't mean he wanted to admit it.

Despite the fact his heart felt like it had been stepped on by Rogercop, he didn't let any of it show on his face and kept listening to the girl talk. At the moment, this wasn't about him, this was about her. He would listen to her and make her feel better. He could wallow in self-pity later.

"He's been very tired lately and I wanted to cheer him up so I - I made him some cookies since he doesn't get to eat sweets often. I would have given them to him before class but after what happened... I wasn't able to do it," Ladybug continued. "I finally gathered the courage to do it at the end of the day. He had gone to the bathroom and he was going to be back soon so I waited for him to come."

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in them. For a full minute she didn't say anything and neither did Adrien. Mostly because he didn't want to pressure her and – as Plagg insisted – because he was jealous of that boy for getting homemade cookies from his Lady.

 _I'm not jealous, Plagg!_

 _Oh,_ please _. Remember that artist guy? You were so jealous you ended up turning him into an akuma!_

Ladybug sighed. "But that girl saw me and she likes him too so started talking me down," she continued. "She said how there was no chance he was ever going to like me back, how I wasn't good enough, how he was never going to like a boring girl like me."

Adrien was a model. He knew how to put on a smile and pretend that nothing was wrong even when everything was. He could be at the verge of collapsing from fatigue and still smile for the camera. But right now, he was so angry at that girl for talking to his Lady like that you might as well have insulted his mother (a word of advice: DON'T do that) that there was no hiding it. "Ladybug, you're not-"

"I don't listen to what she says normally but... After what happened this morning… it felt true," the heroine caught him off."I broke down in tears and the box of cookies fell from my hands. I turned around to leave and - and I saw him standing in the doorway."

In the warm glow of the street lights from below, Cat was able to see the tears in her eyes. He froze. Ladybug crying was… it wasn't right. When they first started working together, he idolized her like she was a goddess and put her on a pedestal like one. Back then, seeing her cry would feel wrong because of that – because Ladybug _didn't_ cry.

But that wasn't the case now. While working together for so many months they had gotten closer. He no longer saw her as perfect, he knew she was a human - and as one - she got angry and sad and did that adorable little snort when she laughed too hard. Seeing her cry felt wrong because he didn't want to see her cry.

"I felt so h-humiliated, Cat! I-I made a fool of m-myself and cried in f-front of the w-whole class! A-and in front of h-him too! S-so I r-ran away."

Sure, Nino's joke might have been just a coincidence, but Adrien was having some serious déjà vu. It was possible that Ladybug did the exact same thing Marinette did today, right? It could happen, right?

 _Oh, who am I kidding? I always wanted to learn Ladybug's identity and now I'm in denial!_

Next to him, Ladybug – Marinette – sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "H-he must think I-I'm a total idiot."

"...My lady?" Cat Noir asked hesitantly. _It's now or never._ "What is the name of that girl in your class?"

"Chloe."

"Bourgeois?"

She nodded. "H-how did you...?"

 _If I can fight super villains on a daily basis I can do this,_ he thought and put his hand on her shoulder, making her turn to look at him."M-Marinette, he's not going to think or you like that."

Her eyes narrowed and she pulled back a bit. "What-? How did you-?"

"I-I'm not going to think of you like that."

Her eyes widened so much Adrien was pretty sure they would pop out. "A-A-Adrien?!" She nearly yelled as she stood up.

"P-plagg, claws in." A blinding green light filled the rooftop and where Cat Noir previously was now stood Adrien Agreste, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "H-hi, Marinette."

"You're – you're Adrien. A-all this time, you w-ere – and I – my goodness, I can't believe this- this is crazy," Ladybug kept on rambling, eyes still wide as dishes.

"I think you broke her, pal," Plagg snickered, plopping his tiny elbow on Adrien's shoulder.

Adrien ignored the kwami and darted forward, catching Ladybug by her arm right when she was about to yo-yo away from the rooftop. "Look, Ladybug – Marinette. I know you didn't want this to happen like this. I didn't want it to be like this either. I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me who you are."

"I do trust you, c-chaton," Ladybug said. "I trust you a lot. I w-wouldn't have told you what happened today i-if I didn't."

"And do you trust Adrien enough to tell him too?"

"You mean if I could actually piece a complete sentence around him?" She chuckled quietly but nodded. "Yeah. Although, I might have left out that part about having a crush on him."

Adrien chuckled. "I don't know, that part was pretty informative."

Ladybug scoffed at him. Adrien smiled. The tension had calmed down and they were back to joking around like they did when they were both in costume. That is, until she realized what she had told Cat – told Adrien – earlier.

"Oh my god. I – I actually told you that – and I didn't even know it was you!"

"Yeah, it's hilarious if you think about it, right?" He laughed. "We've been crushing on each other without even knowing."

"Yeah, I guess it is funny," Ladybug agreed.

They settled back down on the rooftop edge, Ladybug finally dropping her transformation and just looked at the city. Adrien knew he was pushing his luck, asking her this right after their identities were revealed like that, but he might not get the courage to do it later.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Mhm?"

"Well, since I like you and you like me… would you like to hang out tomorrow? I-If you want to, I mean! You don't have to do it if you don't want to, I understand-"

"Adrien?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I would love to."


End file.
